Barrington Schools to Host Community Forum on Bullying

The Barrington School Department, in partnership with Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin, Barrington Police Department and Cox Communications, will host a panel discussion and community forum on cyber bullying and Internet safety for students.

The free and public forum is scheduled for tonight - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - starting at 6:30 p.m., at the Barrington High School auditorium, located at 222 Lincoln Avenue.

Led by Barrington School Superintendent Michael Messore, panelists include Attorney General Kilmartin, Barrington Police Chief John LaCross, Dr. Lawrence Filippelli, Assistant Superintendent of Scituate Schools and a leading cyber bullying and Internet safety expert. In addition, a representative from Cox Communications will speak about the company’s “TakeCharge” public awareness campaign in area schools.

Following a panel discussion on the legal and emotional consequences of bullying, what parents need to know about their children’s online behavior, and how to protect children online, the forum will be opened to questions from parents, educators and members of the community.

Tomorrow - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - prosecutors from the Office of Attorney General will speak with middle school and junior high school students about the issues and consequences of bullying.

• The presentation at Barrington Middle School (261 Middle Highway, Barrington) will take place at 9:00 a.m.
• The presentation at the Hampden Meadows School (297 New Meadows Road, Barrington) is scheduled for 10:15 a.m.

According to a survey conducted in 2014 by Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on teens and “tweens” use of the Internet, on average, teens spend 5 hours and 38 minutes online every day with nearly half that time spent playing online games. In addition, the survey showed that 92 percent are social network users with 74% sharing photos or videos of themselves, friends (58%) or family members (51%) online.

The survey results showed that, during the time teens spent online one in four teens have been a victim of cyberbullying and more than half of teens surveyed have witnessed cyberbullying (54%). Teens state that appearance is the number one reason for online bullying. The survey also showed that nearly half of teens admit to taking action to hide their online behavior from parents.